Kevin Phillips rolled back the years with the kind of goal that has been the hallmark of his marvellous career to ease Birmingham City’s fears of having the unwanted tag of following Carling Cup champagne with the sour taste of relegation from the Premier League.
Phillips underpinned what was Birmingham’s fifth win in front of their own supporters this season, a success which was confirmed by Craig Gardner’s emphatic second as Bolton’s troubles on their travels extended for another week with their first loss of the season to a side in the bottom half of the table.
Phillips may be approaching his 38th birthday in July, but his vision for a goal has not been blurred by his advancing years. His instincts remain as sharp as they were when he was forging his reputation at Watford. Incredibly, this was his first league start of the season and he gave Birmingham just the opening they required.
Nerves have been shredding at an alarming rate since drinking the Carling Cup champagne, but Phillips’ control and clinical finish, which proved too strong for Jussi Jaaskelainen eased the tension as early as the fourth minute.
Gardner understands precisely what the locals are going through as a self-confessed “Bluenose” and the euphoria erupted when his low shot from the edge of the area found the target, via the far post, but the tension was palpable as Ben Foster again underlined his claims to be England’s first choice goalkeeper with a series of excellent saves.
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He was involved in a running duel with Daniel Sturridge and the third of three wonderful stops, low to his left, one-handed to divert the on-loan Chelsea striker’s effort beyond the far post, was the pick of another impressive catalogue. When he was eventually defeated 20 minutes from time, the anxieties ratcheted up another notch.
Owen Coyle constantly tries to distance himself and his current side from the more direct approach of previous managers Sam Allardyce and Gary Megson, but there was little subtle in their reply. Jaaskelainen’s punt to the edge of the area was chested into the path of Johan Elmander and the Swedish striker produced an emphatic volley, but it was not enough to prevent Bolton suffering their eighth away defeat in their last nine games.
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